I Give Up This Rotten Marriage

It was the second week after he returned from a class reunion when Oscar Maxwell asked me for a divorce.

"What do you mean?" I asked, in disbelief.

We had been married for three years and our affection grew stronger with each passing day. Just recently, we gathered our families together to share the joyful news – we were planning to start a family of our own.

Oscar looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and a stubble that had been left unattended for days. He didn't dare meet my gaze, his eyes lowering slowly as he muttered, "It's only temporary. I can't just leave her alone."

Her.

He didn’t say a name, but I knew exactly who he meant.

The first love who had abandoned him.

"Sharon isn’t doing well right now. Her marriage is falling apart, but her husband refuses to divorce her. They're going through a court battle, and she's living alone. We had a past... We were together once. Now she's in trouble, and I'm the only one who can help her."

I stayed silent for a moment before asking, "So, she wants you to be her defense lawyer for the divorce?"

Oscar nodded.

He spoke slowly, "Her husband is powerful, and the case will be extremely challenging. Our divorce... it's just to protect you. In the future..."

He paused as if there was more he wanted to say, but I cut him off.

"Should I be thanking you for your thoughtfulness, then?"

Perhaps the sarcasm in my tone was too obvious, as Oscar's breath caught in his throat, and he fell silent.

I stood up, grabbed the coat hanging over the chair, and said, "Then let's get divorced."

Oscar shot to his feet, feeling nervous. "It's so late... where are you going?"

"From this moment on, we have nothing to do with each other."

I left those words behind and walked straight towards the door. But just as I reached the entrance, I couldn’t help myself. I turned back to face him and asked—

"Oscar, do you remember the night after Sharon abandoned you? When her people came for you? The beating was brutal. Back then, you swore to me... you'd make the one who betrayed you pay dearly."

The door closed slowly, blocking out the sight of Oscar's face, now drained of color, and swallowing the words I never said aloud: "Oscar, are you really so selflessly helpful, or is it that... you're just pathetic?"

…

Oscar and I were practically childhood sweethearts.

During our school years, he was an outstanding student with good looks.

Even though his family wasn't well-off, he was still quite popular with the girls.

I used to watch him toss love letters from his desk drawer straight into the trash, his face filled with annoyance as he told me he had no interest in dating and found the whole thing bothersome.

From that point on, I kept my distance, carefully hiding the small flutter of a teenage crush deep within me.

It wasn’t until later that I discovered he did make an exception.

That exception was Sharon Fox.

Sharon possessed a beauty that whispered of danger. In an era when uniformity reigned - identical bangs and cookie-cutter school attire - she dared to be different. Beneath her jacket, a camisole peeked out rebelliously, while her lips gleamed with shimmering gloss. She was a spark of audacity in a sea of conformity.

One day, she cornered Oscar between classes, asking him if he wanted to do something thrilling.

Oscar tried to avert his gaze in disgust, but in the next moment, she hooked her arm around his neck and planted a bold kiss on his lips.

Watching his face turn bright red, Sharon giggled. "You're so shy."